


where you lead

by LocalVodkaAunt



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Western, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Sexist Language, Sexual Harrassment, Sexworker!Nami, Sheriff!Zoro, gender non-conforming clothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 01:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17172908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LocalVodkaAunt/pseuds/LocalVodkaAunt
Summary: That one fic where Nami makes Luffy wear a corset as punishment and he tries to recruit Zoro anyway. Confusion ensues.





	where you lead

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a christmas present for my lovely beta [tazzmatic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazzmatic/pseuds/tazzmatic) ! Thank you for being so awesome and patient with for the last few months and I hope we'll have a lot of geeky conversations in the future!
> 
> Also Tazz commissioned [AMAZING ART](https://zorotrash.tumblr.com/post/181433733971/famousstrangerreview-comissioned-this-for-my) for this fic as a christmas present to me, the artist was [Jackce](https://jackce.tumblr.com/) . Their art is amazing and they regularly open comissions, so check them out!
> 
> As usual, if u liked it or have feedback for me, please drop me a line or an emoticon.

 

The smell of smoke and alcohol is like a wall, and for the first few seconds it’s almost choking him. Zoro breathes in as deeply as he can nonetheless, because this is the moment he has been waiting for all day. It’s loud, people are shouting and laughing, someone knocks over a table. He hears the giggle of the girls and feels the warmth of the crowded room heat him up.

It’s almost too much to bear after spending the day in the solitude of the sheriff's station. But he won’t back out now, this place is as close to home as Zoro usually gets. Also, he desperately wants a drink.

 

Without looking out for anyone, he pushes his way through the saloon, ignoring shoulders brushing against him and the feet he steps on until he reaches the bar. He hears someone call his name, but he doesn’t care. When he finally sits down on a  free bar stool, he feels a sense of relief wash over him.

 

The glass of whiskey appears in front of him automatically.

 

“Why do you keep coming back here?” Sanji the barkeeper asks, even though it was him who poured Zoro his drink in the first place.

 

“‘Cause it’s the only damn saloon in town. Don’t think you’d ever see me again if I had a choice.”  He takes a sip of his drink. The burn in his throat is invigorating. This day dragged on as if it would never pass, but the sting of the alcohol helps him unwind and dampens the quiet aggression that pulsed through him since he woke up.

 

“Every night I hope this is the night I won’t have to see your stupid face.” But despite his harsh words, Sanji doesn’t turn away. Even the daily fights with him are part of Zoro’s routine now. They feel equally exciting and familiar. Over the years, they learned not to escalate them too quickly. When Zoro began his position as sheriff, he could not start drinking before they at least trashed one stool. Half of the marks on the bar are from his knives, a cut for every time he tried to stab Sanji after an especially crude comment.

 

Today he lets himself revel in the feeling of having someone to blame and be angry about. Sighing, he takes off his pistol belt with the sheriff star, leaving only his three knives sheathed by his hips. Hopefully, the night will be peaceful.

 

“So, you’re the sheriff?” Zoro didn’t notice anyone approach him, but as he looks up, there is a saloon girl sitting next to him. She looks incredibly young, with big eyes and a wide cocky grin. Her corset is tightly laced over her chest and she wears the same shortened skirts as Nami and the rest of them.

 

But everything else about her seems off, somehow. Maybe it’s the fact that her hair is not long and done up, but sticks up from her head in short black strands, that are only partially covered by a straw hat which doesn’t match her dress at all. She seems to have no breasts to speak of, so that Zoro can see the empty space between the corset and her chest. And there is a scar under her left eye. She looks out of place but still handsome in an unusual way.

 

He hasn’t seen her around before. She must be new then. This poses the question why Nami would hire someone who has as many obvious flaws as one of hers. Not that he cares, but he knows Nami does when it comes to business.

 

The girl leans forward and grapples for his badge. “That’s so cool! I’ve never met a sheriff before. Only bounty hunters.”

 

“Oi!” Zoro swats her hand away and scowls at her carefree grin.

 

“Do you come here often?” she asks then. The question is so plump, Zoro feels his face go red with second hand embarrassment. He doesn’t even know why she’s here. Nami should have told her that it’s useless to woo him. He is not interested in women and never will be, even though her androgynous figure and short hair do seem appealing in a way and the bold twinkle in her eyes is almost impressive. Most girls that come to Nami are terrified when they pick up their work. But this one looks at him as if she’s not afraid of anything or anyone in the world.

 

He shakes his head. He came here to have some booze and work some of his frustration out on the idiot bartender, not to overthink his sexual preferences.

 

“I’m here every day to drink in silence,” he replies, not bothering to look out for her irritated expression. Except of getting up and leaving with a huff as he anticipated, she leans in closer to him.

 

“That sounds boring.” She could have sounded seductive, but instead there is a childish undertone in her voice, like she is somehow already tired of him speaking. “Would you not rather have fun?”

 

“This is fun.”

 

“I’d rather go out and have adventures!” She sounds excited now, as if she could see it before her eyes. “Sail the old world. Find some treasure. Punch a few people.” Her grin is reckless, showing all her unusually white teeth. Everything about her is wrong. Zoro still wonders what she’s doing here and why he can’t bring himself to tell her off.

 

“But here you are, in this fucked up town, with me.”  He takes a sip of his drink. From the corner of his eyes, he watches the girl leaning over the bar, head propped into her elbow, looking at him unfazed. Her slug posture highlights the way her corset hugs her straight frame, giving it artificial waist and hips. She shouldn’t be able to move like this, let alone make it look awkwardly graceful, in such a restraining piece of clothing. Then again, what women do is always a mystery to Zoro.

 

“Yeah, but only because Nami makes me. I’ll be out of here soon enough. And then I’m going to set sail!” She sounds so sure of herself. He briefly wonders if he should tell her that Nami never lets go of a business opportunity, but she will find out soon enough.

 

“I only want to beat up this weird gang types for her and then we’ll get going!”

 

Her confidence is equal parts contagious and ridiculous. Though he never heard of the guys she is talking about, he doesn’t doubt that Nami makes enemies easily. As long as they’re not in the reach of his influence, he can’t be bothered.

 

So he makes a non-committal noise. “Figured the witch would find someone to do her dirty work.” God only knows why she would ask one of her girls. But then. Women.

 

The weird girl next to him laughs. “Nami is my friend. I want to help her if she’s in trouble.”

 

He doesn’t know what to answer so he just stays quiet, nursing his drink.

 

They sit in silence for a few moments. He is painfully aware of the girl’s eyes on him.

 

The strangeness kind of suits her. The longer he watches her from the corner of his eyes, the more he gets used to the contrast between her feminine clothes and her attitude, which isn't ladylike at all. Her legs are spread beneath her skirts and while she looks at him, she scratches her back unceremoniously.

 

"You should come with me," she says eventually.

 

He almost spits out the mouthful of whiskey he was about to swallow. His eyes burn as some of the liquid runs down his windpipe.

 

"What?!"

 

"I heard the girls talk about how strong you are. And you don't seem very happy here. You look grumpy."

 

"He was just born this way," the stupid bartender chimes in. "Can I get you something?"

 

"Oi! As if you look any better with these eyebrows!" He gesticulates wildly around his face to illustrate his point. "Normal people don't have curly eyebrows!"

 

"It's genetic. The same as you claim the moss on your head is!"

 

Next to him, the girl laughs. "You're funny!" Her laugh is loud, the noise rising effortlessly over the other voices in the saloon. She needs a good few moments to catch her breath again. "Do you have any food?"

 

Without another word, Sanji turns around and begins to assemble something behind the bar.

 

"Are you always like this?" the girl asks when she finally recovered from her laughing fit. Then, without waiting for his answer she continues. "I should take you both. You would be fun to have around.” She takes another deep breath. “But I don’t think he’s right, you know?” She makes a vague gesture in Sanji’s direction.

 

"What are you talking about?" Zoro’s still not sure what she is even talking about, but somehow, she has decided it has something to do with him, and Roronoa Zoro has no business with saloon girls. Literal or otherwise.

 

"You should join my crew! We'll sail the seas and have adventures." There's this gleam in her eyes again, exactly like earlier. "Think about it. We'll be sailing across the sea and no one can tell us what to do! Just like pirates." It takes a moment until the words catch up to him and for these few seconds, the idea seems incredibly tempting. Before he settled down in this town, he traveled through the west alone, looking for a challenge. It was a good life, simple and easy, just the way he likes it.

 

But then reality catches up with him. "I don't want to be a pirate. I have nothing to do with criminals!" It's not like he is a sheriff out of conviction, but he is in absolutely no mood to join the criminals he arrests behind bars.

 

"You'll come around. It's great!" She grins again, showing even more teeth than before. Sanji comes back, a bowl of something in his hand. He sets in in front of her and she immediately starts eating. It's messy. "I'm so hungry!" She speaks with her mouthful and tiny drops of what Zoro assumes has been stew at some point fly through the air. It's disgusting, but at the same time it looks so absurd he can barely hold back a laugh.

 

He usually doesn't get along well with girls, but whatever is going on with her sets him at ease despite her demands. It's strange. Her posture makes her seem likeable, but what she says is utter nonsense.

 

"This is awesome!" The words are muffled by the spoon she still has in her mouth. "Did you cook this?" She looks at Sanji, who nods.

 

"Always wanted to be a cook," he answers.

 

"Then why aren't you?"

 

"This town doesn't exactly need a restaurant" He gestures around. "Look at these uncultured swines."

 

"You should go and be one. This is the best stew I have eaten in my life!"

 

Zoro didn't even know this place served food. But then again, he doesn't exactly come here to get fed.

 

Voices rise behind him. Someone will probably end up in a bar fight in the next few minutes. It's all the same to him. This is the barkeeper's domain and he is more than capable to break fights himself. It's another reason Zoro likes to spend his evenings here. It's one of the few times no one expects him to do something.

 

Absentmindedly, he continues to watch the girl. There is something to be said about the way the corset highlights the frame of her body. She is sturdy for a woman, but the clothes make her seem more breakable somehow, although he knows she is probably anything but. Noone out here is.

 

The voices get louder. They are not in here, he notices, but come from outside, but still close enough to the entrance to hear them clearly.

 

"Don't play coy!" someone says, a nasty undertone in his voice. "Last week you've been awfully nice to my friend here."

 

So, someone is after the girls again. But they can handle themselves. Nami is really good at hitting things and she makes sure her employees are, too. They certainly never need him to rescue them or something else equally stupid.

 

Sanji throws a worried glance towards the swing doors, but stays put. He probably remembers all the times Nami gave him a piece of her mind when he tries to be 'gallant', as he calls it, with her.

 

"Yeah, well, this bar was my father's. I can't just leave." His answer is late and the girl next to them seems to have forgotten what they talked about.

 

She shrugs. "You're missing out."

 

"Hey, why are you letting him off the hook so easily?" She seemed far more intent to recruit Zoro earlier.

 

"Because you're strong and I need someone strong." It seems so easy, the way she says it. He is in his right mind to get angry all over again, when they hear a high-pitched scream from the directions of the door.

 

Their heads turn towards it simultaneously.

 

There is a crash and a man's voice cursing. Half expecting everything to quiet down again, half alert, Zoro sits out the next few seconds. Then another scream rings through the saloon and promptly he and the girl next to him are on their feet, Sanji halfway across the bar already. There must be a problem with Nami and the other girls.

 

He takes a step in the direction of the door when a hand on his shoulder holds him back. It's the girl, whose name he still doesn't know. She is clinging to him, her legs wobbly, her other arm desperately trying to find her balance. Zoro looks down and sees her heels. It must be her first time wearing them, because she looks like she is a foal trying to gain footing.

 

He opens his mouth to tell her to let go when they hear the girl's voices from outside again. Still firmly gripping him, the new girl gets drawn behind as Zoro makes his way through the crowd of other patrons, who act like nothing happened. Which is probably a good idea in this town. Hell, Zoro would be one of them if he wouldn’t accidentally have found himself in the role of sheriff.

 

The girl hits his back as he slows down to get through an especially crowded area of the bar. He turns around to yell at her, but as their eyes meet, she looks at him unflinching. "Help me get outside," she says. "Something is wrong with Nami!"

 

And sure enough, as soon as she said it, there is another yell, this time it forms a simple word. "Sanji!"

 

When Nami calls for the bartender, things are really going to hell.

 

His brain short circuits for a second. Without thinking, he pulls he girl closer and grasps her waist, feeling the strangely firm and smooth texture of her corset underneath his fingers. Maybe, at another time, it would have been fascinating to feel her move under him, so human and alive, and at the same time stiff and even under his hands. As it is, he lifts her over the bags and boots of the other patrons, into his arms. The sooner they get outside, the better.

 

She feels strangely weightless as he steps through the crowd, fitting into his grip almost too well. He looks down at her for the fraction of a second and sees her grinning up at him while she holds her straw hat in place with one free hand. "Thanks!"

 

It's not the first time he held a woman in his arms, but Zoro finds it's the first time he doesn't mind.

 

Shaking his head to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts, he reaches for the door.

 

The scene outside is taunting.

 

Nami stands in front of the saloon, her fighting stick raised in an attack stance. She looks incredibly angry and is shouting at a man, whose features are distorted into a leering grin. In his one hand he holds on to one of the other saloon girls, pressed tightly against him. She is crying silently and struggles against his grip, because his arm seems to press directly onto her windpipe. The other is outstretched. He holds a gun.

 

Zoro suppresses a curse. Guns are never good, and in the commotion, he left his lying on the bar. Behind him, he can hear Sanji exit and stop dead in his tracks, drawing in a measuring breath.

 

Zoro wishes he had his hands free. This whole situation would be resolved if he could only reach his knives. One throw, and the gun would be a goner and Nami and Sanji could take it from there. But he has his arms full of saloon girl, who grits her teeth angrily.

 

"I need to get out of these shoes", she presses out, "and then I'm going to kick this guy’s ass." She wriggles in Zoro’s arms, who can only do his best to not drop her right then and there, trying to free herself off her heels. It's not working out.

 

"Let her go," Nami demands across from them. "This is a business. You have no right to help yourself to one of my workers."

 

The man snarls. "Workers. Did you mean sluts?" He lowers the arm which holds the saloon girl a few inches, allowing her to breath. Zoro can see her gasping, but in the next second her face becomes a mask of horror when the man grasps for her breasts.

 

"You don't deserve any better," he spits.

 

Zoro wants to end him. This town is not a pretty place. Nami is not a person and her escort service, as she calls it, is far from legitimate. But neither she or the others deserve to be threatened in this way. Or treated like they were anything but people making money.

 

The girl in his arms still wriggles, not getting anywhere in her attempts go get off her shoes. Zoro contemplates planting her on her feet again but fears the motion would upset he potential shooter.

 

If they want to get out of this unharmed, everything has to happen quickly. "I can take him out." At his words, the girl stills. "But it needs to be fast. I’ll aim for the gun. Whatever you want to do, hurry!" Then he presses her slim frame against his chest as hard as he can, frees one of his hands and tears the laces out of her boots.

 

They are gone in two quick motions. Immediately, her slim feet kick up against the palms of his hand. _How can someone so small have such confidence?_ he asks himself, but lets it pass as soon as he thought it.

 

A side glance at the shooter reveals that he is far too busy fondling his hostage and harassing Nami to care for them. He probably feels like he controls the situation. _But_ , Zoro thinks as he lets his hand wander to were his knives are holstered safely against his hip, _control is such a fickle thing._

 

He looks down again, his eyes locking with hers. She bares her teeth at him in what could be another aggressive grin. It's feral, and Zoro feels a tuck on the corner of his mouth.

 

Then he draws Wado.

 

She slips in his grip as he throws, almost bringing them off balance but landing on her feet and steadying him with a hand around his biceps. Wado sings as she flies through the air, hitting her mark reliably as always. The man screams as her sharp blade drills into the muscles of his wrist and he lets the gun drop reflexively.

 

Suddenly, several things happen at once. He hears Sanji roar behind him, jumping forward and crossing the distance between him and the shooter at a speed Zoro has never seen on him. The girl in his arm breaks away from him and bursts in the same direction. Nami charges forward, only to be held off by another man appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He steps in her way and reaches for his hip where, in all likelihood, another weapon is stashed.

 

Zoro reaches for Kitetsu, but it turns out he doesn't need to, because Sanji immediately changes direction and kicking the newcomer in the side.

 

To his right, the saloon girl has reached the still squirming pistol guy and punches him swiftly in the face, allowing the girl he holds to bite down on his arms.

 

Screaming, he tumbles back a few steps.

 

"How dare you threaten my friends?" Saloon girl's voice sounds deeper than before, words laced with rage. Her colleague scrambles to the side, legs giving out under her. "You'll pay for that." She cracks her knuckles.

 

Once.

 

Twice.

 

Meanwhile, her opponent has recovered a bit, or at least he stopped screaming. "I won't let a whore beat me. You piece of shit." His voice is horse and he still trembles from pain, but his features are torn in anger. He looks barely even human, disgusting and covered in blood as he is.

 

To his left, Sanji aims a final kick for new guys head. He sacks to the floor and Sanji hastens into the direction of Nami, undoubtedly to make sure she is alright and to swoon over her as he so often does.

 

Zoro is a bit disappointed there is no one left for him. Especially when the stupid bartender got his few minutes of fun.

 

Biting back the frustration, he makes his way over to the defeated goon to tie him up securely, so he won't escape.

 

Meanwhile, the Saloon girl and the shooter circle each other, no one making a move quite yet. But from the twitch in her hands, he can see she intends to change that pretty fast. And true enough, after a few more steps she seems to lose her patience and charges, trying to land a kick in the rips of the attacker.

 

It would have been effective, Zoro can see how much strength and momentum is behind her movements. But in the moment before her foot would meet its destination, it tangles in the complicated drapery of her skirts. Unable to free herself before the momentum pulls her forward, she falls to her knees.

 

The shooter laughs.

 

And goes in for a hit that she barely dodges while trying to get free. It takes a few moments and some evasive maneuvers for her to get herself sorted out, so she can get to her feet again. With a frustrated groan, she tears at her skirts.

 

Zoro sees the fabric rip as if it was paper, the mass of cloth falling free around her, revealing slender legs and tight shorts that leave nothing to the imagination.

 

Especially not the bulge between her legs.

 

For a moment, Zoro is taken aback, trying to make sense of it all. But then the pieces fall into place, and he gets why her appearance seemed so unfitting in the first place. But there is another feeling. It’s a weird flutter in his gut, that works its way through his body, making it hard to breathe. He can’t take his eyes off her naked skin, trailing up and down every exposed inch.

 

It’s the contrast. The slim line of her waist and her aggressive posture. The skirts and what lies underneath. Wobbling on her feet and hitting a punch all in the span of minutes.

 

The moment is over before he even notices. With a feral growl, she jumps ahead, using the momentum to land the kick she attempted before against the foreigner’s chest.

 

“How dare you,” she growls again. “How dare you treat Nami like this.” It’s not even a question. It’s a statement. She hits him, her fist colliding with his face with an ugly crack, breaking bone. From where he knees, Zoro is not sure if it are her's or his, but it doesn’t matter, because she doesn’t let up, swinging her fists wildly, almost too fast to see, until her opponent topples over. He tries to lift his hands, to land on more blow, but his efforts are futile.

 

She watches unmoving, as his knees hit the ground, little clouds of dust rising up and settling on his clothes. With her torn dress, ruffled hair and her hat, which still hangs loosely on her head, she looks like an apparition, a vengeful goddess in the desert.

 

Her eyes gleam with dark satisfaction. Zoro knows the feeling, knows the moment after the battle when the euphoria sets in, but the anger is not yet gone, the bloodlust that spreads through the body and makes every fiber sing.

 

It’s the same way he feels when he has finished a fight.

 

Their eyes meet for the split of a second. Something passes between them, Zoro can feel it, the quiet understanding of two hungry people.

 

Coming home, he imagines, feels a little like this.

 

He remembers what she said earlier. How she asked him to join her. And in this moment, he knows he will. If she will still have him, he will follow her everywhere. Because she knows him.

 

He watches her as she makes her way over to Nami, who stands next to Sanji, the fear and rage on her face replaced with the slight annoyance she always displaces when Sanji is near her. The bar owner doesn’t seem to mind, talking to her enthusiastically.

 

They stop talking as the girl approaches.

 

“Are you alright?” she asks.

 

Nami nods. “I can’t believe you’re still wearing this!” She gestures up and down her body.

 

“I don’t know how you do it, I can move right in these clothes.” The girl sounds almost childish. “I want my real clothes back!”

 

And Nami laughs. It’s as if all the tension drains at the sound, the fight vaporizing into thin air. The third girl shakily stands up, still shivering slightly but otherwise unharmed. Zoro has never heard Nami laugh since he moved here. It feels like she is breathing right again.

 

“So, you’ll come with me now?” the girl asks her boss. “To the old world?

 

“Ask me later,” is her reply. “For now, I need a drink.” And she lowers her weapon and turns to the saloon again. Sanji and the other girl, who is still breathing too shallow and too fast, follows on her heels, telling them how he will bring out the finest scotch, how they stood like queens in the face of peril.

 

The scene looks ordinary, almost domestic. It feels strange after so much violence. The calm over the town is almost deafening.

 

“Told you I’d beat them up!” The voice rips him out of his thoughts abruptly. The girl, who isn’t really a saloon girl, as Zoro knows now, stands next to him, still grinning.

 

“Yeah you did. That was pretty impressive.”

 

“I’m really strong,” she states. “We’re going to have so much fun at sea.”

 

For a second, Zoro debates if he should correct her. Tell her that he won’t be ordered around. That he has a goal, and ambition and he won’t stand back behind her. But then he sees her gleaming smile, the dust that settled on her face, the dirt on her legs. The way she still looks delicate even though he has seen her deliver blows that would have knocked him straight off his feet.

 

It’s no use to pretend.

 

“I agree.” He pauses, swallowing eventhough his throat is dry. “Captain.”

 

Zoro doesn’t understand how it’s even possible. But her smile gets even wider. “I knew you would come around. Now, let’s get some food. I’m hungry!”

 

Then she turns around, leaving him bewildered. “You just ate!” he calls after her.

 

The only answer he gets is a giggle.

 

Zoro watches her enter the saloon, already yelling for the barkeeper to bring her more stew. And he doesn’t even know her name.

 

But if this is how it’s going to be - he can’t say that he really minds.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on tumblr @zortrash or twitter @fatfairy17!


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